WSOY Community Food Drive returns this fall

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — The WSOY Community Food Drive is returning as the number of people turning to food pantries in Decatur and Macon County steadily increases. The food drive is scheduled for Oct. 4, 2024 at the Airport Plaza Kroger on Route 36.

“The rising cost of food and inflation in the past few years is leaving many families the difficult choice between feeding their families or putting a roof over their kids heads said co-founder Kevin Breheny. “Those challenges have also stretched the pantries thin, leaving some with bare shelves and diminished funds to stock them.”

This will be the first time since 2021 the food drive has taken place. In the previous 20 years it helped raise 23 million pounds of food. During the 12-hour event on Oct. 4 both canned foods and monetary donations will be accepted.

According to Debbie Bogle of the United Way of Decatur and Mid Illinois, “Food insecurity affects nearly 14% of families in Macon County alone.” 44% of Macon County residents are either living in poverty or earning just above the Federal Poverty level.

From January to May 2024 the Good Samaritan Inn, which provides daily hot meals, had a 34% increase of meals served when compared to the same time frame in 2023. By the end of May Good Samaritan was serving 300 people a day.